The present invention relates to archery products and fasteners, and more particularly to a tool for installing and tightening a broadhead relative to a projectile, such as an arrow, or for installing a fastener relative to a work piece.
There are a variety of broadheads on the market today. Some broadheads are fixed, replaceable blade broadheads having two, three, or four blades. The blades are replaceable relative to a ferrule of the broadhead. A popular fixed, replaceable three-blade construction is the Stryker™ available from G5 Outdoors LLC. Other broadheads are of a monolithic single-piece structure with a number of permanent blades. A well-established, standard monolithic broadhead in the industry is the Montec™ which is also available from G5 Outdoors LLC. Yet other broadheads are referred to as mechanical broadheads, which include blades that move and/or expand relative to a ferrule. A common mechanical broadhead is the Tekan™ or T3™, also available from G5 Outdoors LLC.
The above broadheads typically are attached to arrows to be shot from conventional archery bows, or bolts to be shot from cross bows. The broadheads include a threaded portion that is joined with a ferrule. The threaded portion mates with a like-threaded insert which is glued, fastened or otherwise secured to an interior or exterior of the arrow or bolt. The inserts typically are made from metal, such as aluminum, or a composite.
Typically, when an archer installs a broadhead on an arrow, the archer threads the threaded portion of the broadhead into corresponding threads in the insert. If the archer does not have an appropriate tool to grasp the broadhead and/or ferrule, frequently the broadhead is not sufficiently tightened to the insert. Sometimes, even with an appropriate tool, the archer does not sufficiently tighten the broadhead.
Accordingly, several issues can develop. For example, the broadhead can back out or unthread from the insert and/or arrow. This can happen when the arrow is transported in a quiver on an archery bow, or otherwise subjected to vibration which causes the broadhead to unthread. Alternatively, the broadhead can sometimes unthread if not properly tightened or torqued down relative to the insert by the arrow spinning through the air.
The untightening or unthreading of the broadhead from the arrow or bolt can cause further issues. For example, if a broadhead backs out too much, the broadhead can simply fall off the arrow and be lost. In other cases, the broadhead ferrule can back out sufficiently so that one or more of the broadhead blades becomes misaligned with the ferrule, other cutting edges on the broadhead, and/or vanes of the arrow. Alternatively, with a replaceable blade or mechanical broadhead, one or more of the blades can be lost altogether. The unthreading of the broadhead from the arrow further can cause erratic or inconsistent flight, which can affect accuracy and consistency in shooting of the arrow.
While there are some tools on the market which allow tightening of the broadheads, most are very simplistic—typically including a flat handle attached to a flat ring that defines a number of slots corresponding to the number of blades in the broadhead. An archer places the ferrule and blades within the slots of the tool, and turns the broadhead, tightening it down relative the arrow or bolt. While this tool can provide some degree of tightening, the exact torque with which the broadhead is installed relative to the arrow or bolt generally it is unknown. Accordingly, the archer frequently under torques the broadhead, so it is prone to unthreading. Other times, the archer over torques the broadhead, which can strip the insert and make it difficult to remove the broadhead for replacement or sharpening of the blades.
In the realm of fasteners, it is frequently the objective to tighten a threaded fastener relative to a threaded aperture in a work piece to a desired torque. Torque wrenches are sometimes utilized to achieve this objective. Many torque wrenches provide too much information, and can be overly complicated with digital readouts, scales and the like. These added features also make most conventional torque wrenches overly expensive.